Grades

Grades are available after classes end. See the calendar for your session or program for specific grade posting dates. Study Abroad course grades are generally available approximately one to two weeks after the program ends.

Viewing Your Grades

Official grades are posted in online services. Grades posted in Canvas or other course websites are not considered official final grades.

If you want to transfer your Summer School grades to degree programs at Harvard or other schools, check with your program advisors about transfer policies and procedures before registering for courses.

Grades are considered final when they are submitted to Academic Services for processing; they are not changed except in cases when the instructor has documented a clerical or computational error.

Letter grades

Grades reflect the quality and quantity of a student’s work submitted throughout the term. Each instructor determines the individual grade components for their course and their percentage value in the calculation of their students’ final grades. Students should check the course syllabus for more information on their instructor’s grading policies.

Students registered for undergraduate or graduate credit who complete the requirements of a course may earn one of the following grades:

A and A–

Earned by work whose superior quality indicates a full mastery of the subject—and in the case of A, work of extraordinary distinction. There is no grade of A+.

B+, B, and B–

Earned by work that indicates a strong comprehension of the course material, a good command of the skills needed to work with the course materials, and the student’s full engagement with the course requirements and activities.

C+, C, and C–

Earned by work that indicates an adequate and satisfactory comprehension of the course material and the skills needed to work with the course materials, and that indicates that the student has met the basic requirements for completing assigned work and participating in class activities.

D+, D, and D–

Earned by work that is unsatisfactory but that indicates some minimal command of the course materials and some minimal participation in class activities that is worthy of course credit.

E

Earned by work that is unsatisfactory and unworthy of course credit. This grade may also be assigned to students who do not submit required work in courses from which they have not officially withdrawn by the withdrawal deadline. Zero or E grades are assigned to students for missing work. These grades are included in the calculation of the final grade.

Nonletter and noncompletion grades

Students enrolled in courses for credit are expected to complete all coursework on time. Students who do not complete a course by the end of a term may receive one of the following noncompletion grades.

Noncompletion grades may affect academic standing. Potential and admitted Harvard Extension School degree candidates and premedical program students should check their individual program requirements.

*** (asterisk)

An interim grade notation assigned by the Registrar’s Office to students with cases pending before the Administrative Board.

DE (distance exam)

An interim grade assigned by the Registrar’s Office to distance students whose final grades are not available when grades are posted online. The grade is changed when the instructor submits a final grade.

EXD (excluded from the course)

A permanent final grade assigned to credit and noncredit students who are no longer permitted to continue in the course. An EXD grade is equivalent to a failing grade and does not result in any tuition refund.

EXT (extension of time)

An interim grade that may be requested by credit students who, due to extenuating circumstances that occur toward the end of a course, need additional time to submit a final assignment or a small amount of written work (one or two assignments—not a classroom final exam—after the course has ended). Instructors may approve or deny a request for an extension of time in accordance with their grading policies. Students who owe a major portion of the coursework should withdraw from the course rather than request an extension of time to complete the work after the end of the course.

Students must submit the completed office copy of the extension of time form to 51 Brattle Street no later than the last meeting day of the course. The latest deadline instructors may set for students to submit outstanding work is: July 26 for three-week session I, August 16 for three-week session II, and September 6 for the seven-week session.

Students who receive an extension of time do not retain access to the Harvard Libraries electronic resources after their session ends. However, students enrolled in distance courses continue to have access to video lectures until the extension-of-time deadline or their grade is changed, whichever occurs first.

MU (make-up final exam)

An interim grade assigned by the Registrar’s Office to students whose appeals for a make-up final exam are approved. This notation is changed to a letter grade when the student takes the make-up exam. Students who do not take the make-up exam as scheduled are assigned an E for that exam. Access to video lectures is extended to the make-up exam date in each term for students whose appeals for make-up final exams are approved.

RQ (required to withdraw)

A permanent final grade assigned to credit and noncredit students who are required by the Administrative Board to withdraw from one or more courses. An RQ grade is equivalent to a failing grade and does not result in any tuition refund. Courses in which students have been assigned RQ grades are not included in the calculation of enrollment status.

WA (administrative withdrawal)

A grade assigned to students who are administratively withdrawn in accordance with Summer School policies. WA may be a permanent notation. The student must forfeit all tuition and fees.

WD (withdrawal)

A permanent final grade assigned to credit students who officially withdraw from courses by the withdrawal deadline.

WD grades may not be changed to letter grades and do not result in any tuition refund. Courses in which students have been assigned WD grades are not included in the calculation of enrollment status. An E grade may be assigned to students who do not complete course requirements and do not officially withdraw by the withdrawal deadline. Admitted Harvard Extension School program candidates and prospective applicants should contact their program offices to discuss the implications of withdrawing from a course on their academic record and GPA.

WN (noncredit withdrawal)

A permanent notation assigned to noncredit students who withdraw from a course by the withdrawal deadline. WN notations do not result in any tuition refund.

Grades for Harvard Business School Online's CORe

Students enrolled in the undergraduate credit version of CORe receive grades of high honors, honors, or pass and fail.

Grades for Pre-College Program students

Students in the Pre-College Program may earn one of the following grades:

AR (met all requirements) for students with active classroom participation, completion of all assignments, and good attendance for the session.

NM (did not meet requirements) for students who fail to meet the course requirements.

Students need to attend every class in its entirety to receive a passing grade of "met all requirements" (AR). In addition to assigning grades, Pre-College instructors will provide a written evaluation for each student within six weeks of completion of the course. It will include a short description of the course and the materials covered as well as a summary of the student’s performance in the course. Evaluations will be available for download in online services.

Grade changes

All grades, with the exception of DE, EXT, MU, asterisk (***), and in some cases WA, are considered final when they are submitted to Academic Services. Ask your instructor for explanations of your grades if you believe errors were made. However, you may not submit extra work or resubmit work to improve a final grade, or have your work evaluated by a third party.

Letter grades can be changed only if there is clear evidence of a computational or clerical error that is documented in writing by the instructor. Grades cannot be changed after Friday, October 25. You should contact Academic Services if your attempts to speak with your instructors are unsuccessful.

Although you are entitled to an explanation of your grades, you should be careful not to harass your instructor. Repeatedly calling your instructor about a grade or additional points or telling your instructor that you need a certain grade could be considered harassment.

Potential and Admitted Harvard Extension School Degree Candidates and Premedical Program Students

The following scale is used to calculate the grade point average (GPA) for Harvard Extension School degree program applicants and candidates as well as premedical program students using a 4-point scale. This numerical conversion does not represent grading assessments for individual courses. Final authority for grading rests with the instructor in charge of the course.

The following numerical values are assigned to letter and nonletter grades:

A

4.0

A–

3.67

B+

3.33

B

3.0

B–

2.67

C+

2.33

C

2.0

C–

1.67

D+

1.33

D

1.0

D–

0.67

E

0

WD

0

RQ

0

EXD

0

Potential and admitted Extension School degree candidates and premedical program students should check their individual program requirements to learn more about how letter and nonletter and noncompletion grades will affect their academic standing, including the limited number of WD grades that can be earned before counting as zeros in the cumulative GPA.

Admitted Extension School degree candidates and premedical program students can learn their GPAs by reviewing academic progress reports available through online services. These reports are updated at the end of each semester.

Potential Extension School candidates should be aware that minimum GPAs are required for admission to all programs and if their GPA is below the minimum, it may not be in their best interest to continue to register for courses in an attempt to raise their GPAs. Students can learn predegree GPAs by logging into online services and choosing Degree Program Admissions, Verify GPA eligibility. The service is unavailable for a short time each term while the Admissions Office awaits students' final grades, and then processes applications and admits students to degree programs.